1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the bait holding art and more particularly to an improved bait holder useful in casting bait to prevent damage to the bait.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have heretofore been proposed several types of bait holding arrangements for securely retaining the bait during casting thereof in order to prevent the hook, which generally goes through the bait, from pulling free due to forces imposed during the casting operation.
One such prior art bait holding arrangement was generally formed of a body member having walls defining a bait holding cavity and a closed upper end to provide flotation. A closure means was adjacent to an opening end of the bait holding cavity and a separate hinge means was utilized to retain the closure means on the body member. To bias the closure member to the opened position there was often utilized a spring or similar material.
Various types of latch means, including the use of water soluble devices, were utilized in the above mentioned bait holder arrangement for temporarily retaining the closure means in the closed position during the casting thereof.
Such a bait holder arrangement had several disadvantages. It was comparatively expensive to fabricate and, since the closure means, hinge, and body member were not fabricated of a unitary structure, additional cost and expense as well as complications associated with fabrication and assembly arose. Such costs and complications prevented the bait holder arrangement above described from achieving widespread success.
Therefore, in many applications it is desirable to provide a bait holder arrangement to securely hold the bait in place and limit the forces imposed thereon during the casting and yet being comparatively economical to fabricate, of rugged and long lasting life and of high reliability.